Jun 26, 2025 12:56 AM
"On Wednesday, the Food and Drug Administration approved lenacapavir for the prevention of HIV. Clinical trial data from last year suggest just two injections a year provide near-complete protection against an HIV infection.
"It's a milestone moment in the history of HIV," says Daniel O'Day, chairman and CEO of Gilead Sciences, which manufactures the drug, which was already approved to treat HIV infection. "In our opinion, it's the best tool yet in helping end the HIV epidemic for everyone, everywhere." Others agree. In 2024, Science hailed lenacapavir as its "Breakthrough of the Year" in 2024.
The twice-yearly injection offers a more convenient alternative to the current standard of care for HIV prevention, a daily pill called Truvada. This pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is 99% effective at preventing HIV infection in clinical trials, but some people face significant barriers in taking a daily pill. One study found oral PrEP's was only 26% effective in certain groups, in part because of skipped doses.
"Even though the pills work, the Achilles heel of that strategy is that people were not adhering to taking the pills as prescribed," says Onyema Ogbuagu, an infectious disease researcher at Yale University.
A twice-a-year treatment could reach substantially more people, especially those who face stigma for taking a daily medication. For instance, researchers found that some single women in South Africa say taking a daily pill raises suspicion among their partners.
But the cost of the drug — roughly $28,000 a year — could price out many. While Gilead is taking steps to broaden access, the high price coupled with the U.S.'s steep cuts to foreign aid could prevent people in countries with the highest HIV burden from benefiting."---
https://www.npr.org/sections/goats-and-s...eakthrough
"It's a milestone moment in the history of HIV," says Daniel O'Day, chairman and CEO of Gilead Sciences, which manufactures the drug, which was already approved to treat HIV infection. "In our opinion, it's the best tool yet in helping end the HIV epidemic for everyone, everywhere." Others agree. In 2024, Science hailed lenacapavir as its "Breakthrough of the Year" in 2024.
The twice-yearly injection offers a more convenient alternative to the current standard of care for HIV prevention, a daily pill called Truvada. This pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is 99% effective at preventing HIV infection in clinical trials, but some people face significant barriers in taking a daily pill. One study found oral PrEP's was only 26% effective in certain groups, in part because of skipped doses.
"Even though the pills work, the Achilles heel of that strategy is that people were not adhering to taking the pills as prescribed," says Onyema Ogbuagu, an infectious disease researcher at Yale University.
A twice-a-year treatment could reach substantially more people, especially those who face stigma for taking a daily medication. For instance, researchers found that some single women in South Africa say taking a daily pill raises suspicion among their partners.
But the cost of the drug — roughly $28,000 a year — could price out many. While Gilead is taking steps to broaden access, the high price coupled with the U.S.'s steep cuts to foreign aid could prevent people in countries with the highest HIV burden from benefiting."---
https://www.npr.org/sections/goats-and-s...eakthrough
